Germ Squirm

Thursday evening I spent three hours sitting on the floor of one of our rooms at school for a class our staff was taking on communicable disease.  Our instructor was a seasoned nurse who delivered the material in such an informative & enjoyable way that not only did we walk out of that class ready to conquer the world's germs, we were entertained beyond belief with side-splitting laugh after laugh.

I took a lot away from that class.  So much so that I thought it was worth compiling a list of fun facts & helpful tips....

• Whatever you breathe in goes into your blood stream.  Consequently, whatever the person next to you breathes in will also be in your lungs.
• For immunizations, visit the immunization clinic instead of your family practitioner.  Immunization clinics are required to follow federal guidelines.  They give out more immunizations and the cost is usually always lower.
• When traveling out of the country, visit a Travel Immunization Clinic.  They know exactly what to immunize you for depending on your travel destination.
• People with poor oral hygiene are 63% more likely to get pancreatic cancer. Floss, floss, floss!
• Doctors don't test for viral infections, only bacterial.  Bacterial infections are larger, easier to test and are treated with antibiotics.  Bacterial infections are localized to a specific area, whereas viral infections can be felt throughout the body.  A cold or the flu would be examples of viral infections.
• People can exchange infections easily with birds, pigs & cats.
• Many of a child's birth defects can be traced to illnesses the mother was exposed to early in her pregnancy.  This is why they tell pregnant women not to change a cat's litter box: we can exchange illnesses with cats and they can easily be passed onto the fetus.
• Check a preschooler's armpits for swollen lymph nodes.  Leukemia can be detected by doing so and is easier to treat if detected early.
• Normal axillary temperature {the temp you get when you take the temperature in the armpit} is 97.6°.
• Baby Tylenol is five times stronger than liquid Tylenol for older children.  This is because the baby's tongue naturally thrusts and they push the liquid out.  A helpful hint: the smaller the bottle, the smaller the dose.
• The reason allergies like those to peanuts are on the rise is because we're over medicating our children with over the counter drugs.  Their T-cells have histidines on high alert, making them over sensitive.
• Cincinnati is the bed bug capital of world.  Bed bugs are increasing in population because of our move to "Go Green"; we're using less harsh chemicals that would normally kill them.  It isn't a matter of if everyone will get bed bugs, but when.
• To check a hotel for bed bugs, look for a sweet, musty odor upon entering.  Once inside your room, rest your bags on hard surfaces and check the cord of the mattress for their little black bodies; they tend to hide out there since that's an area that doesn't get washed.
• Baking soda is a disinfectant.  It's an easy, cost-effective way to wash fruit: place fruit in cloudy mixture of baking soda & water then rinse with water.
• Vomiting + Headache + Fever = 911!  The three are a deadly combination that can lead to Meningitis.

A resource with a variety of website links can be found at RN Instruction Co.  If you are in southern Ohio and looking for an instructor for your school or company on any of the topics she provides, I HIGHLY recommend Shelia Claycraft, RN!  You can contact her through the above link provided.